The Caged Snake

Xie Dongyuan was at a loss. When other people transmigrated, they became princesses or noble ladies, or at the very least a young farm girl. She, of all people, had become a little snake with jade-green scales from head to tail.

To survive in this unfamiliar world, she had no choice but to invent a story about being the mountain god's daughter and attach herself to Zhou Qingxuan, the emperor who ruled the realm despite his crippled legs.

-

From the moment Zhou Qingxuan first saw Mumu by the Greenwater Pool, he knew she was no ordinary girl.

Barefoot, with emerald eyes, she was lively as a forest sprite and so beautiful she seemed untouched by the mortal world.

He knew bringing her into the world would invite trouble, but he still bent down and brought her back to the palace.

But on the day they descended the mountain, he saw her transform into a little green snake with his own eyes...

From then on, the snake became the closest companion at the emperor's side.

The little snake loved dozing on the emperor's crown and curled up over his heart to sleep whenever night fell.

Day after day, they slept and ate together, almost never apart.

Until one morning, a girl with emerald eyes appeared in his arms, familiar scents of grass and trees clinging to her dark hair.

"Zhou Qingxuan, you're awake!"

She smiled, her eyes curving just like the girl in his memories.

In that moment, the heart that had lain still for years suddenly fell into turmoil.

Content warnings (please skip if these bother you):

1. The female lead is not the male lead's first time, but the male lead is hers.

2. The male lead is very traditional early on. He's a tyrant, not a good person.

3. Includes a groveling arc.

Next book:

You Don't Deserve Me

[One female lead, two male leads / Truly wicked heroine / Fake father-daughter relationship / Male rivalry]

The first time Li Huaizhou saw Xia Qing, he knew he wasn't worthy of her.

She was so bright and pure, while he was nothing but a rat in a gutter, unfit for the light.

Even so, he couldn't stop thinking about his stepsister, at least in name.

-

On the seventh day after her father died, her mother brought home a man in a floral shirt.

He grinned rakishly, a cigarette between his fingers, and raised his brows at her with a careless air.

"Hey, runt, how about calling me Dad?"

"A piece of social trash like you thinks you're worthy?"

Xia Qing held her book and glanced at him coolly.

From that moment on, Li Huaizhou knew that deep down, this girl looked down on him.

Later, her mother died in a car accident, and her relatives swarmed like hungry wolves to fight over the inheritance.

Homeless, she had no choice but to flee to his doorstep and beg him, using every bit of pressure and persuasion she could muster.

"You said you were my stepfather. You can't abandon me."

"It won't cost you much to raise me. When you're old, I'll take care of you too."

All Li Huaizhou wanted in life was to scam a little money and muddle through.

He never expected that the rich woman would die young and leave him with a burden he couldn't shake off.

He'd meant to be heartless and refuse to help.

But the girl's stubborn eyes reminded him of himself, surviving on the streets when he was young.

He'd let his heart soften just this once.

But he never imagined that this one moment of weakness would damn him forever.

Theme: Love is not a prison